Hagar Rips Into Van Halen Again

Hagar didn't discuss why he's had a change of plans on this in recent months: he told Rolling Stone last fall, "I'll be the first guy waiting in line at the record store, if I could find one anymore. I'll be really curious [to hear the new VH]." Read that here and more

Aerosmith May Debut New Song on American Idol

(hennemusic) While promoting his work on the current Experience Hendrix tour, Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford is sharing his excitement about the band's new music, along with some interesting details.

"I think people are going to see a lot of Aerosmith later in the year," Whitford told The Times News. "We've got a new song that's gonna be used in a major motion picture this summer, so that's probably the first new music fans will get to hear. We may even debut it on American Idol in May."

"We're definitely planning on touring the U.S. later in the summer," continued Brad. "As for the new CD, the music is done — we're just waiting to get some of the vocals added in." more on this story

Limp Bizkit Making Metal Album?

(Banana 101.5) In a recent conversation about the future of the Limp Bizkit, outspoken frontman Fred Durst revealed some huge expectations for their next release.

Fred Durst recently told Billboard that the follow-up to the 2011 album 'Gold Cobra' will be the "heaviest, most crazy metal record of all time." The statement may stand in stark contrast to the fact that the band signed with a rap label last week, but as he further explained:

"That will service our core and counter balance these big, fat, ginormous hip-rock songs we're going to do [with Cash Money]. We're gonna give out some mayhem and madness…to those people who really lean that way with us." more on this story

Metallica Moving Forward With 3D Movie

Metallica are making progress on their upcoming Metallica 3D feature film and selected Nimrod Antal to direct and Charlotte Huggins to produce the project.

Their camp sent over these details: The film will be a marriage of narrative and concert and will star the five members of Metallica: James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, Robert Trujillo, and the fans. It will begin shooting this August and will be released in the summer of 2013.

"I've been a fan of Nimróds since his first Hungarian film, Kontroll, showed up at Cannes in 2004 and blew everybody away, said Metallica's Lars Ulrich. "I've watched with excitement his career in Hollywood blossom over the last few years. Within five minutes of meeting him I was addicted to his enthusiasm, his take on the creative process and his "thinking outside of the box" personality. Let's get on with it!!!" more on this story

Nickelback Add New Leg To North American Tour

Nickelback have added a new summer leg to their upcoming North American tour which kicks off next month.

With nine newly announced shows Nickelback will stop in 49 cities—including the just-added shows in Hershey, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Saratoga Springs, Darien Center, Charlotte, Virginia Beach and Raleigh.

Nickelback was recently nominated for four Juno Awards in their native Canada, including Group of the Year, Album of the Year for Here And Now, Single of the Year for "When We Stand Together" and the Juno Fan Choice Award. The band will perform on CTV's broadcast of THE 2012 JUNO AWARDS on Sunday, April 1st. more on this story

Jon Anderson Offered To Return to Yes

Update: We received some follow up information and it turns out that during the interview Jon was talking about the time frame when he recovered from his illness in 2007 and asked the band then if he could rejoin, he wasn't speaking about earlier this year when Yes let their singer go. Anderson continues to focus on his solo career. Here is the original article from our news partner Rock News Desk:

(Rock News Desk) Jon Anderson offered to return to Yes after they sacked his replacement last month and he's lambasted the prog rock outfit he co-founded for letting fans down in favour of the pursuit of money, adding they're not interested in making new music.

Yes sacked Anderson in 2008 and he maintains they did it because he was too ill to tour. Tribute artist Benoit David took his place – but in February he revealed he'd been dismissed without being told, also because he was ill.

"I've told them that since I an healthy again that I would get back with them," Anderson tells the Dallas Observer. "I told them that i wanted to create new music, but they don't want to do that. They just want to go on the road and make money. They don't care for the integrity of the band.

"I feel they have let a lot of fans down – they're just in it for the money." more on this story

Ace Frehley For Tattoo & Horror Festival

(Gibson) Original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley is to be the guest of honor at the Full Moon Tattoo & Horror Festival, set to take place April 6-8 at the Nashville Convention Center in Tennessee.

The 11th annual event is a three-day convention featuring celebrity appearances – including Norman Reedus from The Walking Dead series – tattoo artists, plus comic and movie vendors.

Frehley is also working on yet another memoir. He recently told IHeartGuitar, "I've started working on a new album, I'm writing a new book… there are a lot of good things on the horizon. At this point, I think [the next book is] just going to be an extension of [Ace's 2011 memoir] No Regrets.

"There's so much I left out because of the deadline, but after talking with so many different people I've got so many stories that have eluded me over the years. And there just wasn't enough room to put them into No Regrets, and I was past the deadline as it was. But I think I'm going to come out with something in the effect of like a 'No Regrets II.'" more on this story

Sammy Hagar Announces 2012 Birthday Shows

(hennemusic) Sammy Hagar has announced the dates for his annual series of birthday shows in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

The Cabo Wabo Cantina will be rocking to celebrate Sammy's 65th birthday this fall, with shows on October 7th, 9th, 11th and 13th.

Hagar reports that tickets will be handled similar to last year and further details will be announced as the dates get closer. more on this story

Rush's Clockwork Angels Release Date Leaked

(hennemusic) Amazon has posted a May 29th release date for "Clockwork Angels," the forthcoming new album by Rush.

The band's 20th studio effort is also set for a May 23rd release in Japan, according to online music retail sites in that country.

Rush drummer Neil Peart recently shared some insight into the sessions for the new project. "In recent years I have been working deliberately to become more improvisational on the drums, and these sessions were an opportunity to attempt that approach in the studio," wrote Peart. "I played through each song just a few times on my own, checking out patterns and fills that might work, then called in Booujzhe [aka producer Nick Raskulinecz]. He stood in the room with me, facing my drums, with a music stand and a single drumstick—he was my conductor, and I was his orchestra. (I later replaced that stick with a real baton.)" more on this story

Melvins Van With Kurt Cobain's KISS Drawings Up For Grabs

(Gibson) An old tour van used by sludge rockers The Melvins, and featuring a KISS drawing by Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, is being auctioned on eBay.

The "Melvan," a 1972 Dodge Sportsman Royal Van, was used by alt-rock cult act The Melvins and has appeared in many books on Cobain and Nirvana, as it features a pen drawing of KISS on the side done by Kurt. The seller claims, "the KISS Mural on the side was hand drawn by Kurt Cobain using Sharpie markers shoplifted from the Thriftway grocery store in Montesano, Washington."

The van also features the Black Flag logo on the side (stencilled by the current owner, "Ben") and "NOTALENT" and "MEAN MACHINE" spray-painted on the body.

The seller claims that passengers have included Cobain and Krist Novoselic of Nirvana; Buzz Osborne, Dale Crover and Matt Lukin of The Melvins; and Greg Hokanson, drummer for Kurt's first band Fecal Matter. He also claims that the original registration expired in April 1994, the month Cobain died. more on this story

Original Bad Company Lineup Playing Summer Music Festivals

The original line-up of Bad Company have announced their first appearances on the European continent since 1975.

The band, Paul Rodgers, Mick Ralphs, and Simon Kirke, will hit the road for a short run of European festival dates for this summer.

Commencing on June 9, the ensemble will take the stage at the Sweden Rock Festival in Solvesborg. Additional appearances will include five German Rock The Nation Festival performances in Berlin (6/11), Stuttgart (6/12), Augsburg (6/14), Trier (6/15) and Monchengladbach / Cologne (6/16). more on this story

Mastodon Planning Two Record Store Day Releases

(Banana 101.5) Mastodon will appear on two different record store day releases, both of them being split vinyls. The first will have the Georgia metal band covering a song by Canadian indie-rock vocalist Feist, while the other side contains her returning the favor.

The same setup is true of the second split vinyl, where Mastodon will trade 'Black Tongue' to The Flaming Lips in exchange for 'Spoonful Weighs a Ton.'

A Flaming Lips YouTube channel recently posted a brief preview of what is identified in the clip as Mastodon's take on 'Spoonful Weighs a Ton.' There is a brief echo of vocals at the top of the video which do sound legitimate but there is not enough to authenticate the sample — guess we'll find out in April. Have a listen here.

Classic Van Halen In The Studio

(hennemusic) While the modern version of Van Halen is currently on the road supporting their new album, "A Different Kind Of Truth," syndicated radio series In The Studio is taking a look at the band's classic era on this week's program.

"In The Studio: The Stories Behind History's Greatest Rock Bands" examines the early best of Van Halen. With the recent release of a new record - which debuted at # 2 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart - the radio series felt it was a good time to take a look back at the original David Lee Roth-led era.

Along with Michael Anthony and Roth, brothers Eddie and Alex Van Halen also discuss the band's opposing forces inside and outside of the band during those early years. more on this story

An Evening With Primus Tour

Primus will be hitting the road this spring for An evening with Primus, with each show featuring two full sets.

The tour is in support of their latest album, Green Naugahyde, and kicks off on May 3rd in Columbia, MO, and wraps up on June 24th in Modesto, CA.

In conjunction with the tour, ATO Records will release a limited edition 10" single, with live versions of "Jilly's On Smack" and "Eyes of the Squirrel." The vinyl, which will be wrapped in a green naugahyde sleeve, will be available at independent record stores in late April. more on this story

Jon Stewart Interviews Bruce Springsteen For Magazine

(hennemusic) The next issue of Rolling Stone magazine will feature a Bruce Springsteen interview conducted by Jon Stewart.

"It's not at all surreal," Stewart tells Rolling Stone with heavy sarcasm, referring to his friendship with the legendary rocker. "It's very hard to reconcile sitting and fishing in a little pond in New Jersey with a guy that you spent many years hitchhiking the New Jersey I-95 corridor to see in Philadelphia back in the day. The only band I think I've seen more than Bruce Springsteen is the Springsteen tribute band Backstreets. I try not to let him know how pathetic I truly am."

The pair have sat down before to chat on Stewart's The Daily Show, but the magazine session allowed them the benefit an extended conversation. The two men get the space to speak at length about Springsteen's new album, "Wrecking Ball." more on this story

Meat Loaf To Appear on Leno and PBS

Meat Loaf will performing of his new song "The Giving Tree" live on the "Tonight Show With Jay Leno" on March 14th.

The performance coincides with the March 13 release of the new Hell In A Handbasket Cd (Sony/Legacy). Meat Loaf will also sit down that week for an interview on PBS' "Tavis Smiley Show" (airdate TBA).

"Hell In A Handbasket is the most personal record I've ever made," said MEAT LOAF. "It's really the first record I've ever put out about how I feel about life and how I feel about what's going on at the moment." The album, produced by Paul Crook, is an expression of life's metaphors, driven by excellent musicianship, and of course, the passionate vocals of Meat Loaf. "Making this album was a great experience," said Meat Loaf, "and I hope my fans enjoy hearing it as much as I did making it." more on this story

Job For A Cowboy Heading Out On Metal Alliance Tour With Devildriver

Job For A Cowboy are hitting the road next week for this year's Metal Alliance Tour of North America.

The live rituals will commence on March 15 in Austin, Texas as part of South By Southwest 2012 and consume 35 more cities through April 21.

The band will be joined by headliners Devildriver, The Faceless, Dying Fetus, 3 Inches Of Blood, Impending Doom and Wretched. more on this story

Neil Young Journeys Launches in Late June

(hennemusic) Last year, Neil Young hooked up with director Jonathan Demme to capture the music icon on the road.

The result is "Neil Young Journeys," a new film set for release June 29. Young drove a 1956 Crown Victoria from his idyllic hometown of Omemee, Ontario to downtown Toronto's iconic Massey Hall, where he played the last two nights of his solo world tour.

Demme was on hand to capture the journey and both shows, highlighting new songs from the album "Le Noise" (2010), produced by Daniel Lanois, mixed with classics like "Ohio" and "I Believe in You" and previously unreleased songs "Leia" and "You Never Call." more on this story

L.A. Guns Shoot Three Music Videos for Hollywood Forever

(SPR) L.A. Guns spent a few days in Los Angeles shooting three videos to support their forthcoming album Hollywood Forever, and are releasing a video for the song "You Better Not Love Me" online next week.

With videographer Jack Foster behind the lens, the band shot indoor scenes at the Circus Disco in Hollywood. With an LED logo in the background, the band meshed theatrics with its expected rock energy on the big stage.

Later, additional scenes were shot in L.A.'s colorful Little Mexico and the landmark Hollywood Forever cemetery. Videos for "Requiem (Hollywood Forever)," and "Aranga Nigre" were also shot. more on this story

Tonight Alive Cancel Tour Over Medical Issues

Tonight Alive have canceled their upcoming North America tour with Go Radio and SXSW appearances due to having to attend to serious unspecified medical issues.

We were sent these details: The band are extremely disappointed, but would like to assure fans that they will still be performing at Vans Warped Tour this summer as scheduled. Go Radio will proceed as scheduled with their headlining U.S. tour with This Providence, Tyler Carter and Simple As Surgery.

As a thank you to fans who've shown their support for the band, Tonight Alive are giving away three acoustic tracks, "Breaking & Entering," "Let It Land" and "What Are You So Scared Of?," which can be downloaded here.

Sammy Hagar Remembers Ronnie Montrose

(Gibson) Guitarist/singer Ronnie Montrose passed away on March 4, and colleagues have been paying tribute. Sammy Hagar got his break as lead singer for (the band) Montrose. In a heartfelt interview with Rolling Stone, Hagar says…

"For me Ronnie's passing is the end of an era. Ronnie Montrose gave me my first break as a songwriter, as a front man, as a recording artist and as a touring artist, and for that I will always be grateful. The first Montrose album was the first album I ever recorded and it still stands as one of the best recordings I have ever been a part of. I wrote songs with him, but it was his trip.

"He's the guy that got me to sing with him. I had no experience whatsoever; I just wrote the first four songs in my life, which were 'Bad Motor Scooter,' 'Make It Last,' 'One Thing on My Mind,' and 'I Don't Want It,' played them for Ronnie upon first meeting, shook my hand, and said, 'Let's start a band.' I went from zero to a hundred…"

Hagar adds, "What I learned from Ronnie Montrose, I still utilize today when I step on a stage. I try to keep the energy up and the entertainment high." Lita Ford pays tribute here.

Singled Out: Judge Smith's Orfeas

Today Judge Smith, who was part of UK '70s prog band Van der Graaf Generator, tells us about the song "Orfeas" from his new solo album "Wolfman George". Here is the story:

'Orfeas' is a Songstory, that's to say it's intended to tell a coherent story with music, in this case the a retelling of the ancient myth of Orpheus, the magical musician who travels to the Land of the Dead in search of the lost Eurydice. In my version, he is a guitar hero instrumentalist, and this track is an extract from one of his stage shows. John Ellis (Vibrators, Stranglers, Peter Hammill's 'K' Group) is the star guitarist, and his band features, among others, David Jackson (Van der Graaf Generator) Saxophone, and Gigi Cavalli Cocchi (Ligabue, C.S.I.) Drums. The music I wrote for them features guitar and sax playing harmony melody lines, and their numbers showcase Orfeas' killer solos.

My 'Orfeas' Songstory also features 70's New Wave pop-star Lene Lovich as Eurydice, and uses several entirely different types of music to carry the narrative. Death Metal, Modern Classical music for string quartet, classic Trance and Flamenco guitar all feature, as well as the instrumental Guitar Rock of the 'George Orfeas Band', and almost every one of the seventeen musicians involved is a long-time friend and collaborator of mine. As far as I know, no one else is making work quite like this.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and learn more about the album right here!